Page:The Strange Case of Miss Annie Spragg (1928).djvu/210

 she went there to let Teena Bitts and Winterbottom and Mrs. Crumyss know in the most casual way possible that she and her friend were going to Brighton for a spell. Winterbottom eyed her shrewdly and sadly, suspecting that the moment had come when he was to lose Our Bess forever, and after she had gone Mrs. Crumyss remarked acidly through her veil that "the next thing they'd be hearing was that 'er Gryce had become one of them swell divorce corespondents."

It was the first time Bessie had ever been outside London and, as she said, "it made her feel lost." Even the crowds and the music on the jetty did not help much after she was used to them; they did not make up for the gayety of the Pot and Pie with Teena Bitts uttering coarse bitter comments and 'Arry and Alf drinking and Mrs. Crumyss giving freely of her experience of life. Without Mr. Blundon Bessie would have been miserable, but his presence gave her a purpose, something, as it were, to steer by. She had to plan the days and watch over his health and see that there wasn't any noise in the lodging house and buy him cigarettes. Although she had long been Bessie to him, she never presumed to call him anything but Mr. Blundon, and although they shared the same room there had never been even a suspicion of lovemaking between them.

It was in the second week of the visit that the great meeting occurred. Mr. Blundon, who was working hard at the lodging house and was a bit exhausted by Bessie's hungry attempts at conversa-